Vaccination rates in the United States are steadily rising and in-person workplaces are reopening. But 2020 caused many businesses to take a hard look at the benefits of remote working and many businesses are choosing to make it permanent and employees are overwhelmingly onboard.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to shut down in-person worksites and implement remote work. At first, a number of employers were skeptical of productivity and the overall impacts, according to Flexjobs, 94% of surveyed employers report that company productivity has been the same (67%) or higher (27%) since employees started working from home during the pandemic.
With in-person worksites opening back up, many employers are choosing to at least give employees the option of continuing remote work. The pandemic caused or encouraged a number of employees to relocate out of cities or farther away from their in-person offices.
Many Americans moved to more rural locations where the same job opportunities may not be available but where they could efficiently work remotely. Other employees simply prefer working from home and have been more productive and satisfied with their jobs doing so compared with being required to commute to an office space.
In a CNBC remote workers report they found a Workforce Happiness Index of 75 out of 100 for employees working remotely. This compared to 71 out of 100 for those working in an office space. Additionally, employees who do work remotely or at least have that option report being more satisfied with their jobs.
With this shift towards remote work or even hybrid remote/office work, employee benefits must evolve to meet this changing business world. With employers and employees embracing a work from anywhere mentality, there are a new set of questions and challenges facing employee benefits.
According to Upwork, 41.8% of the American workforce continues to work remotely over a year after the start of the pandemic. An estimated 26.7% will still be working from home through 2021. Upwork estimates that by 2025, 36.2 million Americans (22% of the workforce) will be working remotely permanently. That is an increase of 87% from 2019.
As the workspace evolves so do the benefits needs and wants of employees. How can employers meet those needs?
Some employers are rethinking their benefits to make sure benefit offerings reflect the needs of remote workers. Because benefits should feel like benefits. They should help you attract and retain high quality; hardworking employees and your employees should feel like their benefits work for them and their ever-changing needs.
Universal Benefit Account® offers secure, compliant and flexible benefit account offerings. Whatever the needs and wants of your organization Universal Benefit Account® has more than 50 different benefits offerings and growing. With TASC Universal Benefit Account® employers can adapt benefit offerings in a way that work for their employees and their ever-changing needs. TASC is committed to understanding our clients’ needs and Universal Benefit Account® provides benefit solutions that work for everyone, remote, in-person and everything in between.
With a new trend towards remote or hybrid workplaces, employers are looking to increase flexibility in their benefits. Home office account, dependent care FSA, work clothes account, pet care reimbursement account, paid volunteer hours account, giving savings account and dozens more are all available with Endless Aisle as part of Universal Benefit Account®. Employers can offer customized offerings that meet the needs of employees.
Health and welfare benefits as well as compliance can bury employers and employees in complexity, uncertainty, and frustration. At TASC we make benefits simple and take care of compliance so you can spend time and energy on bigger things.
COVID-19 forced employers to look at their employees and their business and make some changes. Employees demand benefits that work for them. That is why TASC’s ever increasing number of accounts are so crucial. No two employees’ needs are the same. Providing benefit offerings that work for everyone is essential.
The tides are changing for business and TASC is ready. As remote work becomes more prevalent and benefits become even more critical, TASC, a company who has always had a significant percentage of our workforce work remotely is up to the challenge to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations and push forward as the leader in our industry and an innovator in employee benefits.
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